Feeding The Soul
My Faith Gives Me the Audacity
My faith gives me the Audacity to say what I say.
No bigotry with Soulness, as I always pray.
And issue a challenge on this Nation’s Birthday.
Seeking solace in the role thee will play.
Unfortunately, many of us can be materialistic, which can challenge our spirituality. Mother Nature and Human Nature evolve in the same cortex/environment, with Human Nature as the controlling body.
Seeds are planted to germinate while Spirituality mutates through the experience of Love and Grace through sharing. The true essence of Grace and Love is observable when we express them through our actions, as our actions speak louder than words, as we share from the seat of our souls.
The phrase “go forth and multiply” originates in the Bible, where God commands humanity to be fruitful and to populate the earth, emphasizing the importance of procreation and stewardship of creation. It is often interpreted as a divine injunction to spread out and fill the world, reflecting the responsibilities given to humankind in the context of creation. The phrase is significant in Judaism and Christianity, symbolizing the continuation of life and the growth of communities.
Moderation with understanding is the key to overcoming a materialistic roadblock. Tares and Tariffs are an injunction; they germinate nothing.
The Biblical meaning of tares is found in Matthew 13:24–43. In this, tares represent the children of the evil one, symbolizing those who disrupt and hinder the growth of the true children of God (represented by wheat). The tares aim to choke the wheat and bear no valuable fruits.
Our Children, the Wheat, become glorified with Instincts of Love and Grace under the Auspice of sharing. The Audacity of living life to its fullest is not a pill in the making but reality being shaken.
What’s your share on this 4th of July Day?
The Setting of a book/conversation
I write to encourage others to read for the sake of fruitful conversations.
Identities can be dangerous and paradoxical things. They are the beginning and the end of the self. They are how we define ourselves and how we are defined by others. One can be a “nerd” or a “jock” or a “know-it-all.” One can be “liberal” or “conservative,” “religious” or “secular,” “white” “black or other.” Identities can be the means of escape and the ties that bind us. They direct our thoughts. They are modes of of who we are. They are the ingredient of the self—along with relationships, memories, and role models—and they can also destroy the soul of man kind.
Under the auspices of one individual’s opinion, the alignment of souls is surmountable at the beginning of any conversation, becoming genial with having preordained respect for a fellow human being’s taste/opinion.
Reading for knowledge purposively for me has curated an atmosphere of being a good listener, seasoned with the ingredients of respect. However, when respect is sought and not given in return, the diner becomes foul tasting, causing the stew to be dumpy while it is being cooked at the wrong temperament.
Respect cannot happen when prejudgment is on the recipe, i.e., race, religion, sexual orientation, hearsay etc., etc. Thereby enunciating death ears through body language. Therefore, books have been my melting pot, with history, the ingredients of many souls, past and present, including my book, “Guidance Against the Odds.” It was not written against any taste of authority but about how I evolved under the tapestry of hate and divisiveness. A catalyst for conversation and a beacon of bacon for encouragement for others. “Black Boy” by Richard Wright, “Josiah Henson’s Autobiography” by Harriet Stowe, “Destiny” by Bishop T.D. Jakes, “The Seat of the Soul” by Gary Zukav, “Instinct” by Bishop T.D. Jake, “A Knock at Midnight” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “The Audacity of Hope” by Barack Obama, and “The African Americans Many Rivers to Cross” by Henry Louis Gates, JR., to name a few, enlarged my coronary.
But “The Measure of a Man,” A Spiritual Autobiography by Sydney Poitier, increased my red and white blood cell counts. He was 17 years my senior, but our lives took a similar course. Maturing during the era of Jim Crow, we both joined the military very young, maturing on a diet of rejection.
Characters
This post was channeled under “Friends” on FB but your sharing would be a sign of caring: as “The mind is a garden, and our thoughts are the seeds. We can plant flowers, or we can plant weeds” William Wordsworth. It has been written in five parts, in book form, and will be sowed separately. Characters, Setting, Plot, Conflict, and Resolution. By the grace of God, born a “Black Boy,” this was “Destiny,” and with divisiveness watering the fields, an “Instinct” sprouted from “The Seat of the Soul.” But the question remains, “Where Do We Go from Here? “It was a Call to Conscience.” Initiated seven years ago by a “Knock at Midnight,” accentuating “The Audacity of Hope” for “The African Americans Many Rivers to Cross.” A minuscule of book titles that have filled the cockles of my heart.
I call it a Mini scroll. Titled “Cordial Communications.” I was energized by a recent conversation with my soul about a rhetorical comment made by an individual from one of my several private groups. These groups share and promote unity through book reading and discuss the causes and effects of life’s inequities, which often lead to divisiveness. I am a conversationalist, not a gossiper, harvesting a “what he said, she said” mentality or a disparager of another. I write and share picture quotes, short stories, etc., on www.bookmystory.net, which became metastasized by my DNA, replicating a foundation for my obsession, the realization of climatic change, and the need to change the climate of hatred. Unfortunately, there are always those genetic poopers who run amuck. A question was asked in one of my groups. What is your identity? How do you like to be addressed? American, Black American, African American, etc., etc. With the response I made, I was personally trolled. Generally, my response would be to offer the devil a seat and walk away because Satan cannot stand to see you blessed. On this occasion, the fruit was in the pudding, and I decided to lower the ladder to add a pinch of sage, as my mother would say. Please feel free to copy and share, harvesting the saged-minded if your heart is free of pepper and aligns with your soul.
The Setting is soon to come.
“A Change is Going to Come.”
I’ve always believed that we shouldn’t celebrate the season without faithfully understanding the reason. I also know that a rainy day won’t last forever because; “A Change is Going to Come.” In 1964, I saw the world outside the bubble in which I was born: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Fifty years later, in 2024, the ugly continues to exacerbate the bad while diminishing the good, leaving no peace or goodwill on earth. Sam Cook was shot and killed by Bertha Franklin. Tupac Shakur was shot and killed 32 years later, not to mention the thousands of non-public souls across the nation on the daily. This alone should generate a lesson of unity under the blessed and a reason for harmony through sharing from the seat of our souls. It’s a beautiful thing when people listen to share the spirit of others while delineating hate. We can progressively hear things into existence, thereby codifying the presence of others. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEBlaMOmKV4
THE COURAGEOUSNESS OF HOPE
Humans are generally creatures of habit rather than logic and are defensive by nature, even when we are wrong. We perpetually destroy the moral fiber of our being as we try viciously to trump each other, “no pun intended.”
It has been scientifically proven that some human beings are not rational. In 1994, neurologist Antonio Damasio laid out a somatic marker hypothesis in his book Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain. In it, he proposed that human beings are not rational but rather rationalizing over emotions. That is to say, first, we feel, and then we think from what is rooted in our belief system and mental framework.
The ultimate faith of America will depend on the unity of an interim new generation of thinkers void of offensive tactics. Millennials and the “Z” generations are known as incredibly sophisticated, technology-wise, immune to most traditional marketing and sales pitches; many, but not all, not only grew up with it, but they’ve also seen and been exposed to the smash-and-grab mentality of the rich over the poor, since early childhood. The rich because of greed, the poor because of survival of the fittest, and the diminishing middle class torn in between. Tactics of fear and hatred with a pound of alternative facts, a phrase coined in 2017 and now AI, Artificial intelligence
With DYN (Dynamic Data Exchange), social media is the CPU (Central Processing Unit) with the help of FPU (Field Processing Units) and LANs (Local Area Networks). I love acronyms, the Military Phonic Alphabet, and the linguistics that brings clarity to communications. Being on the same page and listening left no enclave for alternative truths.
Time is running out; outside forces are radicalizing our youth as we procrastinate to self-destruct in the name of self-initiated “internal fear.” A political philosopher named Edmund Burke once wrote, “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is enough good men to do nothing.” No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning, as does the mindset of fear.
Millennials and Gen-Zs have a voting population expected to rise above 75 million, which can be a game-changer. The combined arrogance of a younger creative mindset, united, selflessly giving positive input with the power to vote, can germinate a new inside-the-beltway mentality. Millennials make up over 25% of the US population and have at least 21% of direct buying power, a massive influence on older generations. 46% of millennials have 200 plus friends on Facebook. These statistics alone would be a show of strength if unified in the mindset of eliminating divisive politics and racism. An old saying is, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink,” especially if the mindset is donkey-driven. At age 80, by physical standards, I am old, but through experience, my mental capacity is beyond reproach because I work at keeping an open mind. I can’t make the mule drink, but I can lead by example.
In these trying times, we must propagate our senses with knowledge rather than hate, with wisdom rather than hearsay. Void the mind of vile thoughts while empowering it with words of jubilance, exuding Love in the caliber of which becomes the ammunition from the chambers of our SOULS. Millennials, it’s your time. Gen “Z’s” it’s your future. Don’t allow money and divisive politics to dictate your and your children’s future. And to my older citizens, a reminder of Abraham Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address, he said: “The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.” I say: If you are motivated, compare and contrast the speech of March 4, 1861, with the insurrection of January 6, 2021. One was external, the other internal. Then, willfully read “The Soul of America” by Jon Meacham and ask your soul where you stand on the future of America.
Reaching for the stars
Reading
Extremism and Partisanship
“Guidance Against the Odds” ©2016 Sharing, daring to care.
Only three-quarters of a century has passed since the Department of Defense ended segregation in the US Armed Forces in 1948. Five years after, the first black flying squadron (The Tuskegee Airmen) was deployed overseas to North Africa in April 1943. On Wednesday, July 26, 2023, three of the remaining Tuskegee Airmen were at a ceremony at Joint Base Andrews in Prince Georges County, Maryland, to mark the anniversary. They fought in World War Two, and Wednesday’s event recognized their legacy and heritage. The crowd honored Colonel Carl Johnson, Lieutenant Colonel Shelton, Ivan Ware, and William Thomas Fauntleroy Junior. All three are Tuskegee Airmen who trained at Tuskegee Army Airfield. Also recognized at the event, the historic aircraft, the PT17 the Airmen flew was officially inducted into the Tuskegee Airmen Collection at the National Museum of the US Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio.
Also, on this day, Morgan Freeman, an Air Force veteran himself, surprised families at a nonprofit event in DC. “Diversity in our nation is our greatest strength,” he said.
I share this on the fact that Blacks/African Americans have played a significant role in building this nation despite Lynchings, Jim Crow laws, Segregation, Peonage (Slavery by Another Name by Douglas A. Blackmon), etc. History repeats itself because it is told with restrictions through the minds of the oppressor. The new demonstration of power, “The Banning of Books.”
“Guidance Against the Odds” ©2016 Sharing, daring to care.
Your mental CPU.
Humans are creatures of habit rather than logic and defensive by nature, even when we are wrong. We perpetually destroy the moral fiber of our being as we try viciously to trump each other, “no pun intended.” The ultimate faith of America will depend on the unity of an interim new generation of thinkers void of offensive tactics. Millennials and the “Z” generations are known as incredibly sophisticated, technology-wise, immune to mundane marketing and sales pitches. CLASS of 2023 audaciously included. Many, but not all, not only grew up with it but also mastered the smash-and-grab mentality of the rich over the poor since early childhood. The rich because of greed and the poor because of survival, souls that will never meet, refers to the term “ignorance is bliss”; while the middle class, the building block of America, is torn between. Tactics of fear and hatred with a pound of alternative facts. A phrase coined in 2017, becoming the weapon of choice, with conspiracy theory at the helm of gun control.
Unix and Epoch are just two of many terms in the computer world that have been around since the early 70s. But the mindset of Googling has become an instinct.
I love acronyms and the Military Phonic Alphabet because it brought clarity to people of honor and discipline while reading from the same page. Now with DYN (Dynamic Data Exchange), social media is the CPU (Central Processing Unit) assisted by FPU (Field Processing Units) and LANs (Local Area Networks) spreading to the evening news. But that’s not the end. Harmoniously comes AI (Artificial Intelligence) while banning books. If you don’t know what (AI) is, you need to ask somebody.
Sharing from the Seat! Guidance Against the Odds © 2016
A Letter to Senator Scott
March 6, 2023
Greetings Senator Scott
Senator Scott, I pray this letter is received with a gracious heart. My name is Henry Lee Faulkner. I am a retired Navy veteran and a senior citizen. I’m an inquisitive soul and an avid reader. I’ve read a couple of your books. “Opportunity Knocks,” and ” America, a Redemption Story.” I am also a canvasser for ideas and a facilitator of concepts. I’ve even written a book myself. With that said, this letter comes with a gift, a copy of my book, “GUIDANCE AGAINST THE ODDS,” and to inquire about your viewpoint on “Cordial Communications.”
First, about your books. Have any of your Republican colleagues read any of them? And, if so, how many would commit to an open dialogue on the merit of the content? I ponder this question because of the “State of our Nation,” as I search for optimism in a deteriorating democracy. My intentions are for productive discussions without degradation or victorious fanaticism, aiming to be the money maker. Combative dialogue is not a means to a constructive end.
It’s no secret that fear has become reflective of the unspoken truth. With dominance and hatred being the bottleneck. It’s modern-day warfare, unlike the “Preamble to the Constitution,” “We the people.” The fear of being humiliated if you don’t go along with a lie by the power of one person resonates in the Republican Party. The indignation was amplified auspiciously in the 2016 presidential primary.
This letter and book be sent to you in the form of a request for you to read and respond in kind. I am not a writer or politician. Just a senior citizen who has been around the block a few times, with the anthology, Heart of Hearts “Instincts”, together with genuine intentions from “The Seat of my Soul,” searching for a solution in a divided nation. Our democracy is in peril. We should not fight hate with hate. Elected officials need to demonstrate bipartisanship. And not use the power of position to divide us further. i.e., A committed liar is seated in a chamber of legislation. Some members of Congress are wearing AR-15 assault rifle pins even after an insurrection—speaker of the House releasees Capitol riot footage to a motivator of hate. Even deeper, an elected official is calling for a national divorce. “Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness,” A quote by George Washington to the states, May 9, 1793.
Democrats constantly speak of reaching across the aisle. In the business world, the need for fellowship is essential, involving the meeting of minds through arbitration when parties cannot agree and money is at stake. There’s partisanship when you pay a person a penny when the cost of living is a dime, while the rich are making a dollar, paying little to no taxes. It is one of the biggest reasons for urban decay. PEONAGE on a legal scale. When fear is induced by enacting laws based on race, sexuality, the control of a woman’s right to birth control and abortion, etc., etc., I call it psychological warfare. When a people’s history is forbidden, or should I say under forbidden learning, with the assertion of teaching privileged children to hate themselves. It’s PRIVILEGED INDOCTINATION by omitting the eradication of the past. The 3Ps of modern-day slavery will lead to the fall of our democracy.
“Nothing to fear, but fear itself,” a phrase from the 1933 inaugural address of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Fear that united the country in those times, now on the inside divides us. From the beginning, fear has always been used as a means of control. In your book, your sister’s words spoke of your father’s fear of driving. In America, for the black man, fear has always been present while trying to maintain the dignity of a man. Besides driving, the fear of walking, jogging, or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time while black. Something I developed early in life. In my youth, I was taught by my mother how to act around white folks for my safety. Fear was instilled in me when Emmett Till was lynched; I was eleven. This is from a 78-year-old citizen to you, a lawmaker, saying: a deaf ear to history will not solve this country’s problem. Carrie Nichols’s beating in Memphis was a shot in the arm for me. Ironically, while stationed at the Naval Training Center near Memphis in the early 70s, the police stopped me on many occasions. One time, I went to jail. There was a beating. The judge, under a speedy trial the very next morning, didn’t listen, and I’ll leave it at that. Two things were in the balance: “My life and my Naval career.” Guidance Against the Odds speaks for millions who have navigated the minefields, where the system holds dominion over destiny. I have 39 more years of living, which could be another book I could write. Different places, different times, but with replicating scenarios. As the saying goes, “You can’t make this stuff up.”
I’ll end this letter with three questions: Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side. So why wouldn’t a politician reach across the aisle in a democracy? The answer should not be paradoxical in seeking a cordial conversation. And why would I, a nonwriter, produce a website, write a book, and continue to write blogs unanswered for seven years? My response to the third is that I love my country because I believe in WOKE. Because “I can’t breathe,” and through the grace of God, there is, as a man, a need to be heard. I pray you will read my book and harmoniously post a convivial response, or at least respond in kind.
Respectfully
Henry L Faulkner, USN Ret.
Chief Navy Counselor
Ref:
https://bookmystorydomain.blog/2019/07/20/a-tweet-for-the-45th-president-4th-re-tweet/
